Differences between Ponting and Tendulkar!

Bangalore, Nov 29: Ricky Ponting and Sachin Tendulkar will never come to face to face on a cricket field with the former's retirement on Thursday.

It is always tough to draw comparisons between contemporaries and seek an answer as to who was the best. The same applies to Ponting and Tendulkar.

TWO GREATS: Ricky Ponting and Sachin Tendulkar

When Ponting made his Test debut in 1995, Tendulkar was already six years into international cricket. He had already featured in more than 30 Tests for India.

But since Ponting's debut in December, 1995, if you look at the statistics between the two greats, it is almost similar. It is very difficult to separate the duo in Test numbers.

Since December 8, 1995, the day of Ponting's debut to till date, Tendulkar has played 154 Tests with 13,079 runs (43 hundreds).

The former Australian captain has 41 centuries in 167 Tests and amassed 13,366 runs at an average of 52.21. Tendulkar's average is bit better at 55.18.

Ponting, to start with, batted at lower down the order and gradually moved up to become one of the most successful No. 3s in the history. With lack of runs in recent past, he has was demoted to four.

Tendulkar, barring the initial period has always remained a No. 4 batsman. The Master Blaster has always preferred that slot.

Though numbers don't reveal the complete story, it is always unfair to compare Ponting and Tendulkar. Both were greats in their own right. They had their own styles of batting. While Tendulkar is considered as the most complete batsman by many, Ponting's pull shots were best in the modern game.

Though Tendulkar failed in his captaincy stint, Ponting had a fine record as Australian leader. For his advantage, he had a great team.

In terms of being part of the winning Tests, Ponting leads the table with 108, which might not been beaten for a long time. Tendulkar has appeared in 66 wins, an Indian record.